Currently, video is a key bandwidth driver for network growth. Accordingly, long haul and particularly metro access/aggregation networks are experiencing significant new demands driven by video services. For example, video services can include high-definition television (HDTV) services, broadcast services, video sharing, streaming video, and the like. Forecasts have pointed to video becoming the predominate service over Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet-based networks.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical segmentation of a network 10 providing video content to end users is a core network 12 connected to an access/aggregation network 14. The core network 12 can include an edge router/switch 16 and multiple network routers/switches 18 with each router/switch 16,18 interconnected. The access/aggregation network 14 can include routers/switches 20 and an access device 22. Typically, the core network 12 includes layer two and three functionality, and the access/aggregation network 14 includes layer two functionality.
Conventionally, a video source 24 can be centralized, such as connected to the core network 12. For example, the video source 24 can include a video home office (VHO) with a satellite feed, a production studio, third party network, or the like. An end user 26 typically connects to the access device 22 on the access/aggregation network 14. Typically the video source 24 includes a transcoder. Video typically requires transcoder devices. Transcoding is the ability to take existing video content and change the format, bitrate and/or resolution in order to view it on another video playback device. The original data is decoded or decompressed to a raw intermediate format in a way that mimics the standard playback of the original codec and then recodes this into the target format.
Transcoders are usually part of the production studio, the satellite upfeed or downfeed office, or the centralized video network office of the provider. Transcoders are not part of edge devices, such as the edge router/switch 16, the routers/switches 18, 20, and the access device 22, due to cost considerations in part. Accordingly, the various devices 16, 18, 20, 22 do not include video specific features, such as transcoding, storage, and video quality testing. Note, the trend is to move video distribution towards the edge, such as through Video servers and the like.
The conventional network 10 relies on centralized video features, i.e. the centralized video source 24. However, this does not leverage the fact modern processes have allowed cost effective increases in distributed processing and storage. These allow stronger customization of user requirements, and thus reduce costs for example network costs by reducing the number of video streams sent around or last-mile costs to the end user 26. For example, conventionally multiple streams are sent for each video channel to the end user 26 from the video source 24 (note, there may be intermediate elements, such as servers and the like). These multiple streams could include a 100 kbps stream, a 700 kbps stream, a 1.5 Mbps stream, a 5 Mbps stream, a 18 Mbps (HDTV) stream, etc.
It would be advantageous to incorporate transcoding, storage, and quality testing into 16, 20, 22 of the core network 12 and the access/aggregation network 14 to leverage distributed processing for reduce cost, lower network bandwidth requirements, and increased features.